


Christmas Wish

by Youwerenevermeanttofeelalone



Category: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Genre: F/M, holiday fanfiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:42:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21753946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Youwerenevermeanttofeelalone/pseuds/Youwerenevermeanttofeelalone
Summary: You’re worried about Rick’s dependence on Cliff; annoyed by it, too.
Relationships: Cliff Booth/Plus Size Reader, Cliff Booth/Reader
Kudos: 15





	Christmas Wish

Holidays were pretty important for your family and it extended to you. It was imperative for you to have everything ready on time, the gifts needed to be perfect, the celebrations well-planned, the decorations put up at the right time. 

You were waiting for Cliff to pick you up in order to buy a few things. The minutes passed, turning into half an hour. Resigned, you took your purse and decided to go by yourself. 

It wasn’t the first time Cliff didn’t call when he would be late, in fact, he almost never called and was always late. If you didn’t know him so well you would’ve assumed he was cheating on you— maybe you shouldn’t even discard the idea at that point. 

You didn’t have anything against Rick, not really. It was more against his inability to do things by himself, that and the calls in the middle of the night that messed your sleeping schedule. 

Cliff’s car wasn’t in the driveway when you got back, carrying multiple bags. With a sigh, you put said bags down and unlocked the door. It wasn’t cold, yet the house felt chilly due to how lonely it was. 

You stared at the bed you had insisted on buying for Brandy, annoyed to know even the dog was with Rick. Deciding to pass the time by sorting the things you had bought, you allowed yourself to forget about it for a good moment. 

Cliff got home by night, you were already in bed when you heard Brandy’s whines and his steps. You told yourself you wouldn’t say anything, you even turned your lamp off and tried to find a position to fake being asleep to avoid it. 

Your closed eyes felt light enter the room as the door opened, Cliff’s steps got slower in order to be more silent— the door was shut as silently as possible as well. You heard the shuffle of his clothes as he changed into sleepwear, the soft thudding of his feet against the carpeted floor indicating he was about to get into bed.

The dip on the mattress didn’t surprise you which was helpful to keep pretending you were asleep. Cliff turned his lamp off, getting closer to you as he got under the covers. You had to keep yourself from scoffing when he slung an arm around you, his face buried on the pillow as he laid on his stomach. 

You found unfair how relaxed he was, how easily he conceived sleep while you laid there with your eyes fixed on the fan as your mind couldn’t stop working. Fighting around the holidays wasn’t ideal, you had been trying to avoid it the entire month and although you had succeeded, the price you were paying was too high. You were getting to the point of second-guessing everything you did or said, the fear of eventually not trusting him eating you alive. Anyone looking it from the outside would tell you to calm down, your mom had told you you were being paranoid yet it didn’t feel like it when the problem was that you didn’t think Cliff was cheating on you— you knew he wasn’t. You just felt like a second option and it wasn’t completely his fault either. 

In the midst of your internal ranting, you fell asleep. You were so hazy when you woke up that for a moment you forgot what had happened and shifted on the bed to greet Cliff good morning. His side of the bed was empty already, and cold. 

❆ ・・・・・ ❆ ・・・・・ ❆ ・・・・・ ❆

Your workday felt a little longer than usual, you were tired both mentally and physically. As much as you wanted to go home, you were dreading the idea of arriving to a silent house for God knows which time in the past two months. 

The car wasn’t parked in the front of the house, Brandy didn’t greet you as you pushed the door open, everything was dark and silent. Crossing the living room you couldn’t help but wonder if you were in the right place, if it wasn’t better for your mental health to just end it and go back to your parents' house for a few days while he had the chance to move out.

You didn’t want that, you just wanted more normality in your life. And honestly, you wanted Cliff to have some too— to do whatever he wanted when he wanted it to do. While waiting for him to get home, you decided you’d just tell him, if things ended because of that then so be it. 

Brandy ran toward you when Cliff got home, whining and wagging her tail. You petted the dog’s head, scratching behind her ears. Cliff kissed the side of your head before heading toward the kitchen, probably to get something to drink. 

When the dog went to the bed you had bought her, you felt that giddiness fill you, the one you felt the first time Brandy slept on her bed. Cliff sat down beside you, putting his arm on the edge of the back of the couch while holding a beer in his other hand. 

“How was work?” he asked, not really staring at you. 

“Fine.”

“That’s good. Rick has an audition tomorrow and he’s freaking out—“

You interrupted, “Rick’s always freaking out.”

At that he turned to look at you, prompted by the tone of your voice. “You got a problem with Rick now?”

You didn’t think the discussion would start so soon, but whatever. “No. He’s really dependent on you, that’s all.”

Cliff sighed heavily, taking a swig of his beer. You rotated your body to look at him, you saw his annoyed semblance which didn’t help your situation. You had known he’d react like that, anyone with a brain would’ve known actually. 

“You’re not going to at least say that he isn’t?” You pressed, wanting him to say anything, even if you didn’t like it. 

“I know you wanted me to go with you to buy the things for Christmas but you don’t have to say things like that because you’re mad.”

Out of all the things he could’ve said, you didn’t expect that. “Who is talking about that? Cliff, for the love of God! Rick can’t do anything without you. I don’t fucking care if you didn’t want to go Christmas shopping with me, but I would’ve liked it for you to not go because you didn’t want to instead because Rick can’t breathe if you don’t remind him how to.”

“We’ve been working together for years, darling,” he tried to reason with you. You didn’t blame him, they were friends and working-partners and all of that. 

Putting a hand on his bicep, you took a long sigh. “I need you to understand that the problem isn’t that you work with him or that you’re friends with him.”

“Then what is it?”

“You’re more of his caregiver than his friend, Cliff. You do everything for him,” you lifted your free hand to count with your fingers, “you put your life on hold for him, your dog is more his than yours, you don’t even do the things you like to do anymore because of him... doesn’t it concern you?”

He considered it for a long moment, looking down at his lap while tracing the rim of the bottle with his thumb. You stared at him, catching the twitches on his face— you were able to see realization dawn on him, it should’ve been comforting but it could mean he was choosing to cast you aside. 

Cliff put the bottle on the center table, rotating his body to face you. You avoided his face, who would want to see their partner either tell them they’re choosing to ignore their efforts to help them regain their agency?

“You’re mad because of that?”

“A little, yeah. It’s tiring.”

“I’ll talk to him,” Cliff promised, extending a hand to grasp your chin between his thumb and index so you’d look at him. “Is that okay?”

You nodded, “just... don’t let him make you think that’s not the case because we both know he actually needs help.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. His eyes lingered on your face, it was clear he wanted to say something else and was trying to find the appropriate words. That happened sometimes, mostly when he was tired. “I wanted to go shopping with you, y’know?”

“Well,” you shrugged, “we’ll probably have to buy something else, that always happens.”

He huffed a laugh, “we good now?”

You hoped you weren’t wrong when you said yes. You hoped, for his own good and yours, that he’d keep his word and talk with Rick. You wanted to have a peaceful Christmas with Cliff, Brandy, and your extended family and you wanted the peacefulness to extend to your life in general— and his. 

In part, that was the hardest part, you genuinely wished Cliff could finally be himself and do what he was in the mood for in the way he wanted to. You hoped, at last, that he’d get that soon— that would be the perfect Christmas gift.


End file.
